Was it an estate or elder law attorney? I'm a financial advisor, shielding money from government hands and getting it into the hands of beneficiaries quickly is something I've had to deal with all too much since Covid started. I've never yet heard a beneficiary be thankful their loved one had a will and I've never once heard a beneficiary regret their loved one having paid to set up a trust.
My will names the executor.
Couldnt tell you for sure, seems he did a bit of everything. Hes a family friend for last 30 years, hes now a district Judge.
Our main concern is making sure any bills IF ANY are paid quickly. We are in no rush to sell land. No rush to sell equipment. Securing equipment yes. He had turned into a hoarder, so cleaning the house he lived in and the home my grandparents lived is the short term goals. My wife doesnt know about the UTV i plan on getting in a few months. Its a lot of land and im sure i'll get a pickup stuck...
The executor has to be appointed by the judge. Everything that you state in your will has to be done by a probate court. Your executor may refuse appointment, may be incompetent to oversee the estate or they may be disqualified for some reason that happens long after you made the will.
Now with all that said, they usually will do EXACTLY what your will states if it can and the will conforms to state law. In Texas it's the same but done a bit different. The probate court is petitioned to admit the will to probate just like here, but they go through all the motions, verifying everything and everyone and the order will just say that the will is approved and admitted. At that point it's done and over with in Texas. The court admitting it to probate is the actual approval and final order of the court.
Here in Oklahoma the court will issue an actual order stating everything in the will just as you have it written out and any differences that the court may order. Differences are rare but do happen.
Yep, your spot on and I know this to be the case. Probate is inevitable but greatly simplified with a legal Will. And a Will needs to be constantly updated over time as things may change.
In my situation I know a Trust is not needed.
You'd be amazed at how many people don't bother.
And a very few will take the flipside of that to extremes. In my work I saw one lady that had 7 or 8 codicils. I think she changed it every time she had a mood change. She was loaded and had a ton of kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews. And she thought she had to provide for all of them....
Will have executor set in two weeks and probate should last 9-12 months per lawyer.
New twist with my family farm. It seems one of my uncles did have a son and daughter with a Canadian woman years ago. Both kids have had last names changed long ago to hide them from my uncle.
